A recent tragic road accident, where a lorry reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road collided with a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) bus, resulted in at least 19 fatalities. This devastating incident has sharply brought into focus critical concerns regarding transparency and the availability of accident data.
When data on road accidents involving TGSRTC buses was requested under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the state-run transport body delivered a perplexing response: “It is regretted to express our inability to provide information as sought in the application.”
The TGSRTC justified its refusal by referencing a Supreme Court order from the CBSE Vs. Aditya Bandopadhyaya case. According to the corporation, this ruling states that if information isn’t already part of a public authority’s records and isn’t legally required to be maintained, the authority isn’t obligated to collect, compile, or provide it. Furthermore, they argued that a public authority isn’t required to furnish information that necessitates drawing inferences or making assumptions.
Kareem Ansari, the applicant who filed the RTI request, expressed his disappointment. “The reply is dated October 24, 2025. I had simply asked for the number of accidents involving TGSRTC buses, even suggesting a format for yearly data including fatalities, injuries, and victim outcomes,” he explained. “Even if other specific details weren’t readily available, the core information on yearly accident numbers should have been provided, upholding the very spirit of the RTI Act.”
Intriguingly, in 2022, M. Nageshwar Rao, a former RTC Board Director, successfully acquired similar details through an RTI request. At that time, the state corporation reported that from 2017-18 to 2020-21, its buses were involved in a staggering 2,674 road accidents. The same response indicated a total of 1,230 deaths among road users, passengers, and other vehicle occupants during that period, including 183 passengers and 283 pedestrians. Moreover, approximately ₹150 crore was disbursed in compensation during those years.
At that time, the TGSRTC was facing severe financial challenges due to rising diesel prices, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that kept buses off the roads, making it difficult to pay compensation. To mitigate this, the transport giant introduced a safety cess of ₹1 per passenger starting in 2022, intended to build a fund for accident compensation.